The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat Read online

  CHAPTER VII: Jerry Muskrat Makes A Discovery

  The beautiful springtime had brought a great deal of happiness to theSmiling Pool, as it had to the Green Meadows and to the Green Forest.Great-Grandfather Frog, who had slept the long winter away in his ownspecial bed way down in the mud, had waked up with an appetite so greatthat for a while it seemed as if he could think of nothing but hisstomach. Jerry Muskrat had felt the spring fever in his bones and hadgone up and down the Laughing Brook, poking into all kinds of placesjust for the fun of seeing new things. Little Joe Otter had been morefull of fun than ever, if that were possible. Mr. and Mrs. Redwing hadcome back to the bulrushes from their winter home way down in the warmSouthland. Everybody was happy, just as happy as could be.

  One sunny morning Jerry Muskrat sat on the Big Rock in the middle of theSmiling Pool, just thinking of how happy everybody was and laughing atLittle Joe Otter, who was cutting up all sorts of capers in the water.Suddenly Jerry's sharp eyes saw something that made him wrinkle hisforehead in a puzzled frown and look and look at the opposite bank.Finally he called to Little Joe Otter.

  "Hi, Little Joe! Come over here!" shouted Jerry.

  "What for?" asked Little Joe, turning a somersault in the water.

  "I want you to see if there is anything wrong with my eyes," repliedJerry.

  Little Joe Otter stopped swimming and stared up at Jerry Muskrat. "Theylook all right to me," said he, as he started to climb up on the BigRock.

  "Of course they look all right," replied Jerry, "but what I want to knowis if they see all right. Look over at that bank."

  Little Joe Otter looked over at the bank. He stared and stared, but hedidn't see anything unusual. It looked just as it always did. He toldJerry Muskrat so.

  "Then it must be my eyes," sighed Jerry. "It certainly must be my eyes.It looks to me as if the water does not come as high up on the bank asit did yesterday."

  Little Joe Otter looked again and his eyes opened wide. "You are right,Jerry Muskrat!" he cried. "There's nothing the matter with your eyes.The water is as low as it ever gets, even in the very middle of summer.What can it mean?"

  "I don't know," replied Jerry Muskrat. "It is queer! It certainly isvery queer! Let's go ask Grandfather Frog. You know he is very old andvery wise, so perhaps he can tell us what it means."

  Splash! Jerry Muskrat and Little Joe Otter dived into the Smiling Pooland started a race to see who could reach Grandfather Frog first. Hewas sitting among the bulrushes on the edge of the Smiling Pool, for thelily-pads were not yet big enough for him to sit on comfortably.

  "Oh, Grandfather Frog, what's the matter with the Smiling Pool?" theyshouted, as they came up quite out of breath.

  "Chugarum! There's nothing the matter with the Smiling Pool; it's thebest place in all the world," replied Grandfather Frog gruffly.

  "But there is something the matter," insisted Jerry Muskrat, and then hetold what he had discovered.

  "I don't believe it," said Grandfather Frog. "I never heard of such athing in the springtime."

  CHAPTER VIII: Grandfather Frog Watches His Toes

  Grandfather Frog sat among the bulrushes on the edge of the SmilingPool. Over his head Mr. Redwing was singing as if his heart would burstwith the very joy of springtime.

  "Tra-la-la-lee, see me! See me! Happy am I as I can be! Happy am I the whole day long And so I sing my gladsome song."

  Of course Mr. Redwing was happy. Why shouldn't he be? Here it was thebeautiful springtime, the gladdest time of all the year, the time whenhappiness creeps into everybody's heart. Grandfather Frog listened. Henodded his head. "Chugarum! I'm happy, too," said Grandfather Frog. Buteven as he said it, a little worried look crept into his big goggly eyesand then down to the corners of his big mouth, which had been stretchedin a smile. Little by little the smile grew smaller and smaller, untilthere wasn't any smile. No, Sir, there wasn't any smile. Instead oflooking happy, as he said he felt, Grandfather Frog actually lookedunhappy.

  The fact is he couldn't forget what Jerry Muskrat and Little Joe Otterhad told him--that there was something the matter with the SmilingPool. He didn't believe it, not a word of it. At least he tried to makehimself think that he didn't believe it. They had said that the waterin the Smiling Pool was growing lower and lower, just as it did in themiddle of summer, in the very hottest weather. Now Grandfather Frog isvery old and very wise, and he had never heard of such a thing happeningin the springtime. So he wouldn't believe it now. And yet--and yetGrandfather Frog had an uncomfortable feeling that something was wrong.Ha! he knew now what it was! He had been sitting up to his middle inwater, and now he was sitting with only his toes in the water, and hecouldn't remember having changed his position!

  "Of course, I moved without thinking what I was doing," mutteredGrandfather Frog, but still the worried look didn't leave his face. Yousee he just couldn't make himself believe what he wanted to believe, tryas he would.

  "Chugarum! I know what I'll do; I'll watch my toes!" exclaimedGrandfather Frog.

  So Grandfather Frog waded out into the water until it covered his feet,and then he sat down and began to watch his toes. Mr. Redwing lookeddown and saw him, and Grandfather Frog looked so funny gazing at his owntoes that Mr. Redwing stopped singing long enough to ask: "What are youdoing, Grandfather Frog?"

  "Watching my toes," replied Grandfather Frog gruffly.

  "Watching your toes! Ho, ho, ho! Watching your toes! Who ever heard ofsuch a thing? Are you afraid that they will run away, Grandfather Frog?"shouted Mr. Redwing.

  Grandfather Frog didn't answer. He kept right on watching his toes.Mr. Redwing flew away to tell everybody he met how Grandfather Frog hadbecome foolish and was watching his toes. The sun shone down warm andbright, and pretty soon Grandfather Frog's big goggly eyes began toblink. Then his head began to nod, and then--why, then Grandfather Frogfell fast asleep.

  By and by Grandfather Frog awoke with a start. He looked down at histoes. They were not in the water at all! Indeed, the water was a goodlong jump away.

  "Chugarum! There is something wrong with the Smiling Pool!" criedGrandfather Frog, as he made a long jump into the water and started toswim out to the Big Rock.

  CHAPTER IX: The Laughing Brook Stops Laughing

  There was something wrong. Grandfather Frog knew it the very minute hegot up that morning. At first he couldn't think what it was. He satwith just his head out of water and blinked his great goggly eyes, ashe tried to think what it was that was wrong. Suddenly Grandfather Frogrealized how still it was. It was a different kind of stillness fromanything he could ever remember. He missed something, and he couldn'tthink what it was. It wasn't the song of Mr. Redwing. There weremany times when he didn't hear that. It was--Grand-father Frog gave astartled jump out on to the shore. "Chugarum! It's the Laughing Brook!The Laughing Brook has stopped laughing!" cried Grandfather Frog.

  Could it be? Who ever heard of such a thing, excepting when Jack Frostbound the Laughing Brook with hard black ice? Why, in the spring and inthe summer and in the fall the Laughing Brook had laughed--such a merry,happy laugh--ever since Grandfather Frog could remember, and you know hecan remember way back in the long ago, for he is very old and very wise.Never once in all that time had the Laughing Brook failed to laugh. Itcouldn't be true now! Grandfather Frog put a hand behind one ear andlistened and listened, but not a sound could he hear.

  "Chugarum! It must be me," said Grandfather Frog. "It must be that I amgrowing old and deaf. I'll go over and ask Jerry Muskrat."

  So Grandfather Frog dove into the water and swam out to the middle ofthe Smiling Pool, on his way to Jerry Muskrat's house. It was then thathe first fully realized the truth of what Jerry Muskrat and Little JoeOtter had told him the day before--that there was something very, verywrong with the Smiling Pool. He stopped swimming to look around, and itseemed as if his great goggly eyes would pop right out of his head. Yes,Sir, it seemed as if those great goggly eyes certainly would pop rightout of Grandfather Frog's head. The Smiling Pool h
ad grown so small thatthere wasn't enough of it left to smile!

  "Where are you going, Grandfather Frog?" asked a voice over his head.

  Grandfather Frog looked up. Looking down on him from over the edge ofthe Big Rock was Jerry Muskrat. The edge of the Big Rock was twice ashigh above the water as Grandfather Frog had ever seen it before.

  "I--I--was going to swim over to your house to see you," repliedGrandfather Frog.

  "It's of no use," replied Jerry, "because I'm not there. Besides, youcouldn't swim there, anyway."

  "Why not?" demanded Grandfather Frog in great surprise.

  "Because it isn't in the water any longer; it's way up on dry land,"said Jerry Muskrat in the most mournful voice.

  "What's that you say?" cried Grandfather Frog, as if he couldn't believehis own ears.

  "It's just as true as that I'm sitting here," replied Jerry sadly.

  "Listen, Jerry Muskrat, and tell me truly; is the Laughing Brooklaughing?" cried Grandfather Frog sharply.

  "No," replied Jerry, "the Laughing Brook has stopped laughing, and theSmiling Pool has stopped smiling, and I think the world is upside down."

  CHAPTER X: Why The World Seemed Upside Down To Jerry Muskrat

  Jerry Muskrat sat on the Big Rock in the Smiling Pool, which smiledno longer, and held his head in both hands, for his head ached. He hadthought and thought and thought, until it seemed to him that his headwould split; and with all his thinking, he didn't understand things anymore now than he had in the beginning. You see, Jerry Muskrat's littleworld was topsy-turvy. Yes, Sir, Jerry's world was upside down! Anyway,it seemed so to him, and he couldn't understand it at all.

  The Smiling Pool, the Laughing Brook, and the Green Meadows are JerryMuskrat's little world. Now, as he sat on the Big Rock and looked abouthim, the Green Meadows were as lovely as ever. He could see no change inthem. But the Laughing Brook had stopped laughing, and the Smiling Poolhad stopped smiling. The truth is there wasn't enough of the LaughingBrook left to laugh, and there wasn't enough of the Smiling Pool left tosmile.

  It was dreadful! Jerry looked over to his house, of which he had oncebeen so proud. He had built it with the doorway under water. He had feltperfectly safe there, because no one excepting Billy Mink or Little JoeOtter, who can swim under water, could reach him. Now the SmilingPool had grown so small that Jerry's house wasn't in the water at all.Anybody who wanted to could get into it. There was the doorway plainlyto be seen. Worse still, there was the secret entrance to the longtunnel leading to his castle under the roots of the Big Hickory-tree.That had been Jerry's most secret secret, and now there it was for allthe world to see. And there were all the wonderful caves and holes andhiding-places under the bank which had been known only to Jerry Muskratand Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter, because the openings had alwaysbeen under water. Now anybody could find them, for they were plainly tobe seen. And where had always been smiling, dimpling water, Jerry sawonly mud. It was mud, mud, mud everywhere! The bulrushes, which hadalways grown with their feet in the water, now had them only in mud, andthat was fast drying up. The lily-pads lay half curled up at the ends oftheir long stems, stretched out on the mud, and looked very, very sick.Jerry turned towards the Laughing Brook. There was just a little, teeny,weeny stream of water trickling down the middle of it, with here andthere a tiny pool in which frightened trout and minnows were crowded.All the secrets of the Laughing Brook were exposed, just as were thesecrets of the Smiling Pool. Jerry knew that if he wanted to find BillyMink's hiding-places, all he need do would be to walk up the LaughingBrook and look.

  "Yes, Sir, the world has turned upside down," said Jerry in a mournfulvoice.

  "I believe it has," replied Grandfather Frog, looking up from the littlepool of water left at the foot of the Big Rock.

  "I know it has!" cried Jerry. "I wonder if it will ever turn upside upagain."

  "If it doesn't, what are you going to do?" asked Grandfather Frog.

  "I don't know," replied Jerry Muskrat. "Here come Little Joe Otter andBilly Mink; let's find out what they are going to do."

  CHAPTER XI: Five Heads Together

  Something had to be done. Jerry Muskrat said so. Grandfather Frog saidso. Billy Mink said so. Little Joe Otter said so. Even Spotty theTurtle said so. The Laughing Brook couldn't laugh, and the Smiling Poolcouldn't smile. You see, there wasn't water enough in either of them tolaugh or smile, and nobody knew if there ever would be again. Nobody hadever known anything like it before, and so nobody knew what to think ordo. And yet they all felt that something must be done.

  "What do you think, Billy Mink?" asked Grandfather Frog.

  Billy Mink looked down from the top of the Big Rock into the little poolof water that was all there was left of the Smiling Pool. He could seea dozen fat trout in it, and he knew that he could catch them just aseasily as not, because there was no place for them to swim away fromhim. But somehow he didn't want to catch them. He knew that they werefrightened almost to death already by the running away of nearly all thewater from the Laughing Brook and the Smiling Pool, and somehow he feltsorry for them.

  "I think that the best thing we can do is to move down to the Big River.I've been down there, and that's all right," said Billy Mink.

  "That's what I think," said Little Joe Otter. "There's no danger thatthe Big River will go dry."

  "How do you know?" asked Jerry Muskrat. "The Laughing Brook and theSmiling Pool never went dry before."

  "It's a long, long way down to the Big River," broke in Spotty theTurtle, who travels very, very slowly and carries his house with him.

  "Chugarum! I, for one, don't want to leave the Smiling Pool withoutfinding out what the trouble is.

  "There's nothing happens, as you know, But has a cause to make it so.

  "Now there must be some cause, some reason, for this terrible troublewith the Smiling Pool, and if we can find that out, perhaps we shallknow better what to do," said Grandfather Frog.

  Jerry Muskrat nodded his head. "Grandfather Frog is right," said he. "Ofcourse there must be a cause, but where are we to look for it? I've beenall over the Smiling Pool, and I'm sure it isn't there."

  Grandfather Frog actually smiled. "Chugarum!" said he. "Of course thecause of all the trouble isn't in the Smiling Pool. Any one would knowthat!"

  "Well, if you know so much, tell us where it is then!" snapped JerryMuskrat.

  "In the Laughing Brook, of course," replied Grandfather Frog.

  "No such thing!" said Billy Mink. "I've been all the way down theLaughing Brook to the Big River, and I didn't find a thing."

  "Have you been all the way up the Laughing Brook to the place it startsfrom?" asked Grandfather Frog.

  "No-o," replied Billy Mink.

  "Well, that's where the cause of all the trouble is," said GrandfatherFrog, just as if he knew all about it. "It's the water that comes downthe Laughing Brook that makes the Smiling Pool, and the Smiling Poolnever could dry up if the Laughing Brook didn't first stop running."

  "That's so! I never had thought of that," cried Little Joe Otter. "Itell you what, Billy Mink and I will go way up the Laughing Brook andsee what we can find."

  "Chugarum! Let us all go," said Grandfather Frog.

  Then the five put their heads together and decided that they would go upthe Laughing Brook to hunt for the trouble.

  CHAPTER XII: A Hunt For Trouble

  Ol' Mistah Buzzard, sailing high in the blue, blue sky, looked down ona funny sight. Yes, Sir, it certainly was a funny sight. It was a littleprocession of five of his friends of the Smiling Pool. First was BillyMink, who, because he is slim and nimble, moves so quickly it sometimesis hard to follow him. Behind him was Little Joe Otter, whose legs areso short that he almost looks as if he hadn't any. Behind Little Joewas Jerry Muskrat, who is a better traveler in the water than on land.Behind Jerry was Grandfather Frog, who neither walks nor runs buttravels with great jumps. Last of all was Spotty the Turtle, who travelsvery, very slowly because, you know, he carries his house with hi
m.And all five were headed up the Laughing Brook, which laughed no more,because there was not water enough in it.

  Now Ol' Mistah Buzzard hadn't been over near the Smiling Pool for sometime, and he hadn't heard how the Smiling Pool had stopped smiling, andthe Laughing Brook had stopped laughing. When he looked down and saw howthe water was so nearly gone from them that the trout and the minnowshad hardly enough in which to live, he was so surprised that he keptsaying over and over to himself:

  "Fo' the lan's sake! Fo' the lan's sake!"

  Then, when he saw his five little friends marching up the LaughingBrook, he guessed right away that it must be something to do with thetrouble in the Smiling Pool. Ol' Mistah Buzzard just turned his broadwings and slid down, down out of the blue, blue sky until he was rightover Grandfather Frog.

  "Where are yo'alls going?" asked Ol' Mistah Buzzard.

  "Chugarum! To find out what is the trouble with the Laughing Brook,"replied Grandfather Frog.

  "I'll help you," said Ol' Mistah Buzzard, once more sailing up in theblue, blue sky.

  Grandfather Frog watched him until he was nothing but a speck. "I wish Ihad wings," sighed Grandfather Frog, and once more began to hop along upthe bed of the Laughing Brook.

  The Laughing Brook came down from the Green Forest and wound through theGreen Meadows for a little way before it reached the Smiling Pool. Therethe sun shone down into it, and Grandfather Frog didn't mind, althoughhis legs were getting tired. But when they got into the Green Forest itwas dark and gloomy. At least Grandfather Frog thought so, and so didSpotty the Turtle, for both dearly love the sunshine. But still theykept on, for they felt that they must find the trouble with the LaughingBrook. If they found this, they would also find the trouble with theSmiling Pool.